


Albus Potter And The Cursed Crush

by AnotherNormalA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hogwarts, M/M, Scorbus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7661008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherNormalA/pseuds/AnotherNormalA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before his fifth year of school, Albus has a bet against his cousin Roxanne. She dares him to set her and her crush - a Slytherin boy - up. If it works, she will do his History of Magic homework for a year. If it doesn't, Albus has to do something that could possibly destroy his and Scorpius' friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of the school year and Albus and Scorpius part for the summer.

**Scorpius**

 

_A random classroom at Hogwarts_

_June 7, 2021_

 

“Are you heading to Quidditch? Slytherin are playing Hufflepuff – it's a big one.“

Albus looked at his friend, a puzzled look on his face.

“I thought we hated Quidditch?”

Scorpius smiled at the way he said that. _I thought_ _ **we**_ _hated Quidditch_. He used to be surprised when the other boy said things like that – like they were one inseparable union. Especially in first year, he was confused by this open, kind Slytherin boy – a Potter nonetheless – that was so willing to be his friend, but by now, he had pretty much accepted the fact that he was stuck with Albus. Not that he minded it in any way.

“People can change. Besides, I've been practising. I think I might make the team eventually. Come on.”

Albus shook his head.

“I can't.” When he saw the way Scorpius' face dropped, he quickly continued. “My dad's arranged to come up-”

“He's taking time away from the Ministry?” Scorpius interrupted him, surprised. Albus' father rarely took time off work and usually even worked extra hours. Besides, Harry Potter and his son didn't have the greatest relationship.

Albus shrugged. “He wants to go on a walk – something to show me – share with me – something.”

Scorpius noticed that his friend sounded uncertain about this.

“A walk?”

“I know, I think it's a bonding thing or something similarly vomit-inducing. Still, you know, I think I'll go.”

Albus was trying to play it down, but still, the shorter one of the two noticed. Both Albus and his dad had been working on repairing their relationship together. It was still a work in progress, but spending time together just talking and trying to understand each other had helped them, and Scorpius had gladly noted how this change had affected his friend. It had made him more willing to talk about his father and, as they had resolved some issues, made him happier. They were small changes, but Scorpius noticed.

Still, he knew that Albus was always a bit nervous and almost anxious when it came to his father, always careful not to destroy what they had just built. He thought his friend could need some encouragement and impulsively pulled him into a hug.

“What's this?” Albus sounded surprised. “I thought we decided we don't hug.”

Scorpius immediately questioned if he had gone too far and this was inappropriate, so he quickly tried to explain himself, not really knowing why he did it himself.

“I wasn't sure.” A short pause. “If we should.” He was searching for words. “In this new version of us I had in my head.”

In his head, it was easy. It was just the two of them, best friends forever. Just the two of them.

“Better ask Rose if it's the right thing to do.” Albus responded jokingly.

“Ha! Yeah. Right.” Scorpius mumbled and let go of his friend. The mention of Rose had ruined this moment. He liked her, but it wasn't like what he had with Albus. He couldn't have explained it even if he tried.

“I'll see you at dinner:” With these words, Albus disappeared through the door. Scorpius watched him go, staying behind for a few seconds, before following him out the door and heading to the Quidditch fields.

 

_Platform 9 ¾, King's Cross_

_July 1, 2021_

 

“So, what are you gonna do over the summer, Al?” Scorpius asked as the train was rolling into the station.

“Probably spend a few weeks at Rose's, not that I really look forward to that. Other than that, not much I guess. You?”

The pair was getting ready to exit the train, putting their leftover candies away (that they had bought previously in Hogsmeade, they didn't really trust the trolley witch any more), pulling their bags down, making sure thy had everything.

“Probably stay in my room and read. I don't think dad has anything planned. We haven't been on a vacation since mum... you know?”

“Yeah,” Albus responded, unsure of what to say.

Scorpius quickly changed the topic: “Oh look, I can see your parents. And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley-Granger. They're waving, see?”

Albus came over to the window. The other boy was right: His parents, Ron, and Hermione were waiting together, his other uncles and aunts were also standing by them, and had already spotted them; they were waving and shouting something incomprehensible. He shortly waved back before turning around.

“Gosh, they're so embarrassing. Everybody's staring at them anyway, can't they just keep it down?” he mumbled under his breath.

Scorpius knew how his friend felt about all the unwanted attention he got from being Harry Potter's son, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy. His own father was stood in a corner by himself, reading _The Daily Prophet_ , not even looking at the train.

As soon as the train stopped, everyone hurried to get off so the boys decided to wait in their compartment for a little bit. Suddenly, the door opened and Rose's face appeared.

“What are you guys still doing in here?”

“Uhm...” Scorpius didn't know what to say, he never knew how to act around her. She was quite intimidating in his opinion.

“Just waiting for all the people to get off, we don't wanna get crushed to death.” Albus explained.

“Well, I'll see you out there then, Albus. Scorpius.”

She gave them a quick nod and left, closing the door behind her. That's how Rose always was, short and to the point. She had her own group of friends – mostly Gryffindors, naturally – and didn't much associate with anybody outside of that circle, but was still generally liked by the student body.

Through the window, both of them watched her get off the Hogwarts Express and greet her family. More Weasley cousins were already standing out there or joined the group shortly after Rose. Scorpius watched all of them with envy.

“Come on, let's go too.” Albus interrupted his thoughts. “The train's almost empty.”

Together, they silently gathered all their belongings and exited the train. Obviously, Albus's parents immediately spotted them. Ginny rushed over. “It's so good to see you again, Albus. Hi, Scorpius.”

“Hi, Mrs. Potter,” he muttered as she pulled his best friend into a hug.

Now Harry came over too, he approached the little group slowly, seemingly unsure of what to do, what to say.

“Albus. How was the rest of the year; how were exams?” He awkwardly patted his son on the shoulder, only then he seemed to notice Scorpius standing behind them.

“Scorpius. Hello.” His voice seemed almost apologetic, as if he was trying to say sorry for what had happened between them.

“Hello, Mr. Potter.”

Their eyes met, but Scorpius looked down, uncertain of how to handle this situation.

Harry cleared his throat.

“Albus, we are all ready to go, are you coming?”

“In a minute. Can you take my stuff? I'll be right there.”

Harry and Ginny left with Albus's suitcases, leaving the two boys alone.

“You guys should get a school bus for all your cousins,” Scorpius tried joking. He hated goodbyes, even temporary ones.

“Yeah. That'd probably be a good idea, I should suggest that to my dad.” Albus responded with a slight chuckle.

“So. I guess I'll see you in two months? Can we hug now? I think this needs a hug.”

Albus grinned at his best friends attempt of saying goodbye and pulled him into a hug.

“Yeah, we can hug now, idiot. I think I kinda like this version of us.”

They separated almost reluctantly.

“I'll see you in two months, Scorpius.”

“See you in two months.”

As Albus was already walking away, the other boy remembered something.

“Promise to write me?” he nearly shouted across the platform.

The dark-haired boy turned around.

“Promise!”

Scorpius watched him leave until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You ready to go, son?”

He turned around to see his father with a small smile on his face.

“Yes, dad.”

 


	2. Journey on the Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is September 1 and Albus and Scorpius see each other again after two months apart. Albus tells Scorpius about a bet he made against his cousin Roxanne that could have crucial consequences.

**Albus**

 

_Platform 9 ¾, King's Cross_

_In a compartment on the Hogwarts Express_

_1 September, 2021_

_10:50am_

 

Albus was sitting in his compartment that he usually shared with Scorpius. He had been sitting here for almost 10 minutes and was starting to get quite worried – usually Scorpius was waiting for him in their compartment when he arrived. Albus couldn't help it, his mind immediately went to the worst conclusions – especially after not having heard anything from his friend all summer despite writing him countless letters.

Suddenly, he heard the door open.

“Scorpius, thank God you're here! I was beginning to think y- oh.”

He quickly stopped talking when he realized it was just Rose and James standing in the doorway. Both had already changed into their school uniforms with matching Gryffindor Prefect badges, James had additionally also his Head Boy badge. Albus had not been elected Slytherin prefect, to no one's surprise.

“Oh, hasn't your 'best friend' shown up yet?” James asked in a mocking voice.

“He's gonna be here, James, just leave me alone.”

Albus didn't especially like his brother, they never had the best relationship. It had gotten worse when Albus was sorted into Slytherin and had befriended Scorpius.

“Are you sure, Al?” Rose asked, her voice sounding more concerned than judgemental. “I mean, you said he hasn't replied to your letters either.”

The boy silently cursed and gave her the death stare. He hadn't told his brother about that – for a reason.

“He hasn't written you all summer? I can't believe you lied to me. If I was you, I wouldn't be so sure he's gonna be here. The train leaves in like five minutes.”

James looked almost triumphant, his face was like a visual 'I told you so'. Sometimes, he could really be a jerk.

“I know, okay?” Albus answered irritated. “Just let it be and leave me alone.”

As soon as he finished talking, they heard a familiar voice behind Rose and James.

“Excuse me, could you let me through? You're kinda blocking the door, just a little bit.”

They both moved into opposite directions to reveal Scorpius standing there, with his ginormous suitcase and his cat cage.

“Oh, Scorpius.” James said.

“We were just talking about you,” added Rose. “Anyway, bye.”

And with that, both of them disappeared, leaving the two boys alone.

“Scorpius, it's so good to see you! I was worrying you wouldn't come.”

Albus jumped up and hugged Scorpius before helping him get all his stuff into their compartment.

“Thanks, Albus! But don't worry, I wouldn't miss it for the world. After all, what am I supposed to do at home all year?”

They sat down just as the train started to move. Without talking, they watched the people at the platform grow smaller and smaller – all the parents and siblings waving goodbye, then they were blinded for a second by the sudden sun light when they exited King's Cross. That's when Albus turned back around to his friend.

“I was worried sick! Did you not get my letters? I wrote you loads.”

Scorpius sounded apologetic when he responded.

“I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to worry. My dad wouldn't let me talk to anybody, he took the whole break off work and wanted us to spend as much time together as possible, some kind of father-son bonding thing.”

Albus nodded understandingly. He had spent a lot of time with his dad this break too, well, as much as his dad could spare.

“So what did you guys do all summer?”

The train was now going a steady speed, passing fields, lakes, forests, but neither boy was paying attention to the scenery. They had gotten as comfortable as possible in their seats and – being used to the route and the landscapes outside by now – concentrated completely on their conversation. They never run out of things to talk about, even on their long way to Hogwarts.

“Well, we visited my mum's grave a lot.” Scorpius swallowed before going on. “I mean, we both always visited it a lot, but never together. We visited it every week, sometimes twice. On the anniversary of her death we-”

He stopped for a while, but Albus knew he shouldn't interrupt him. Scorpius could best talk about things at his own pace, without being forced or rushed.

“We went to the beach. Mum always loved going to the beach. It was the beach where dad proposed to her, you know? And we visited my grandparents – her parents – I hadn't seen them in a while. Since the funeral, actually. It was the second anniversary of her death; two years now, can you believe it? She was always so happy and strong.”

Scorpius stopped talking, his emotions consuming him. He seemed lost in his thoughts, almost about to cry. Albus didn't really know what to do, so he just took his friend's hand and squeezed it before letting go again. Scorpius looked up and shook his head.

“Tell me about your summer, Albus, please. I like hearing about your summer, it's always so much more eventful and happy than mine.”

And as the train kept on moving, the boys kept on talking. About what had happened during the summer, about the latest album of their favourite band _The Worldless Wonders,_ about school, about their teachers and classmates, just about everything that came to mind.

 

Hours later they had talked about everything there was to talk about. It was beginning to get dark, and the movements of the train plus the monotone sounds had made them both sleepy. They were silent, eyes closed, head rested against the window, slowly breathing; not quite awake, but not all the way asleep either, when suddenly, Albus jolted up.

“I just remembered something.”

Scorpius opened his eyes and looked around for a few seconds before sitting up and turning his attention to his friend.

“What did you remember? Did you leave the stove on or what?” He asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, right.” Albus replied with the same tone in his voice. “But seriously, I can't believe I forgot.”

“What is it, Albus?”

“It's such a stupid thing, why did I even agree to it?”

“I don't know, maybe if you _told me what it is_ I could help.” Scorpius grew impatient.

Albus checked to see if the door was closed and hesitated before speaking.

“Well, Roxanne- You know that guy in our house, he's in his sixth year, Kyler something?”

“Kyler Darrell? Yeah.” Scorpius nodded.

“My cousin Roxanne fancies him, like, a lot, apparently they had some classes together last year, she's in that grade, too. And basically we made a bet. I said I could set them up by the end of the year, she thinks I can't.”

“But why do you care?”

Albus shrugged. “I don't really, but she said if I can actually do it, she will do my history homework for an entire year.”

“And if you lose?”

“Uhm...” Albus stuttered, obviously uncomfortable. “Well, let's just say I have to do something for her as well.”

Judging by his friend's frown, Albus could tell that this was something that would come up again, Scorpius was definitely suspicious. But this really wasn't something he wanted to tell him, he didn't want to admit he agreed to something like that. Plus, as part of the bet he wasn't even allowed to tell anybody, especially Scorpius. He would have to find an excuse the next time this was a topic in conversation, but for now, the blonde boy let it go.

“So. Any ideas on how you're gonna do it yet?”

This was the part where it was tricky.

“No, only rubbish ones. I'm definitely gonna need your help, you're the smart one.” And he was certain that Scorpius definitely wouldn't want him to lose if he knew the punishment. After all, it did directly involve him.

“Well, I mean, you could-”

He was interrupted by the abruptly opening door. It was the Slytherin head boy.

“We're gonna arrive in about ten minutes.” He gave them a disapproving look when he realised they still hadn't put their school uniforms on. “Better get changed quickly, you two. Like always, just leave all your things, they will be taken care of.”

With that, he disappeared again.

 

Both boys were kind of nervous to go back to school again. After everything that had happened, there had been a lot of rumours going around the school, none of which were even remotely close to reality. Some students had tried to get information out of them, but most had just talked about them, hushed whispers in the library, little pieces of paper that got passed back and forth in class, loud and noticeable discussion in the halls. They hoped that now, after the summer, it would finally stop. Neither of them appreciated the unwanted attention.

After getting of the train and quickly saying hello to Hagrid whom they had a good relationship too, they managed to get a carriage with just the two of them. Albus was still quite shocked that he now could see the thestrals pulling the carriage. Even though they both had already seen them once, when leaving Hogwarts the year before, he still wasn't used to it, and by the looks on Scorpius' face, neither was he. It might have been different if the creatures were beautiful, but the bony, horse-like creatures were quite disturbing, especially in the dusk. From the light of the lanterns, the long wings cast a shadow over them as they entered the carriage. He also might not struggle with getting used to it, Albus thought grimly, if the circumstances under which they could now see the thestrals were different. This way, they were a constant reminder of what they had witnessed.

“Did you know about the thestrals before last year?” Albus asked quietly when they were seated in the carriage.

Scorpius looked up, not expecting the question.

“I knew about them. I had read about them. But seeing them, in real life... I wasn't prepared.”

Albus nodded. “My dad told me about them after everything went down. Told me about the first time he saw them the beginning of his fifth year. After seeing Cedric Diggory die.” He paused for a second. “Professor McGonagall warned me, too, at the last day of school.”

When Scorpius didn't say anything, he continued. “It's weird, isn't it? We didn't even really know him. Craig, I mean. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Scorpius looked up from his feet. “So was Cedric Diggory. And yet, he needed to die. Maybe Craig did, too. Maybe it wasn't our fault, maybe it was supposed to happen.”

Albus didn't really believe it and he doubted Scorpius did either, but it made them feel better about it for just a second, so he didn't say anything.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> As you may have notice, I changed the title from "'I thought we decided we don't hug?'" to "Albus Potter and the Cursed Crush". This has two main reasons: One, I figured out what I want the actual storyline to be and updated the title accordingly. Two, I think because it's in the same kinda style as all the Harry Potter books it's fits the kinda story I'm writing, I feel like the original title fits a oneshot better for some reason.  
> I also updated the the description.  
> I hope you like it so far! Let me know what you think!


	3. The Sorting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrive at Hogwarts. Lorcan and Lysander, Luna's kids, are getting sorted.

**Albus**

 

_The Great Hall, Hogwarts_

_September 1, 2021_

_6:29pm_

 

Albus and Scorpius entered the Great Hall through the doorway that came from the Entrance Hall together with the rest of the students, excluding the first-years of course, who were still out on the lake with Hagrid. As usual on the first day, the Great Hall looked spectacular: The dark sky above them, candles hovering a few feet over the tables, fine cutlery, fancy plates, the tables decorated in the colours of the different houses.

On normal days, nobody would bat an eye if a student sat at a different tables with their friends, but today, everyone was expected to sit at the table that belonged to their house. So the boys sat down at the Slytherin table, not that they ever sat anywhere else, close to the front where the teachers table was, a long table that stood at the end of the room so that the teachers could observe everything that was happening. Sitting at the table were most of the teachers they already knew from their first four years, the only ones missing were Hagrid and Professor Longbottom, who was not only Head of Gryffindor, but also Deputy Headmaster and waiting to greet the first-years at the entrance. Professor McGonagall, the headmistress, was sitting at the center of the table.

After sitting down, Albus turned to Scorpius. “So, anybody you know getting sorted today?”

He shook his head. “No, my aunt only has one son and he's been out of school for two years now.”

This surprised Albus, he had never met Scorpius' cousin.

“How come you never talked to him while he was still at school?”

“Oh, I don't really know him. You know how my mom was raised with the belief that muggleborns are worthless? Well, her sister is still like that so they didn't really get along. I've seen my cousin maybe twice.”

Albus nodded understandingly. He imagined it had to be hard for his friend, not being close to the only family he had. He was grateful for having such a big family himself, even if it was annoying sometimes.

“What about you? Any cousins starting school this year?” Scorpius continued.

“It may be hard to believe, but they've all started school as of two years ago. Hugo and Lily are the youngest.”

Albus looked over to the Gryffindor table and tried to find his younger sister, but with the huge amount of people that were still walking around and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables that were also seperating them, he wasn't able to see her, so he turned back around.

“But Lorcan and Lysander are starting school this year, and they're basically like cousins.”

“Who are Lorcan and Lysander?” Scorpius had never heard those names before – at least not that he remembered.

“Luna's kids,” Albus explained. “You know Luna, right?”

Scorpius nodded. By now, every student was sitting at their table, and while there was still light chatter around the room, most people just wanted the sorting to begin. Either because they had a relative that was getting sorted today, or – and this was probably true for the majority – they just wanted dinner to start.

Albus turned his attention back to the teachers. There were six places to either side of the headmistress. The first place to her right was empty, reserved for Professor Longbottom. Another place was empty at the far right, but judging by the gigantic chair, he knew that this was where Hagrid was supposed to sit.

Suddenly, the whole room grew silent and when Albus turned around, he saw that the sorting had finally begun: The first-years were being brought in. In a long line they followed Professor Logbottom between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table towards the teachers and lined up in front of them facing the student body. Albus could spot the twins, standing next to each other and looking frightened and anxious. He smiled, he remembered how he had felt that first day.

Professor Longbottom quickly brought a little stool and placed in in front of the line of nervous eleven-year-olds, then walked away a second time and came back with an old pointy hat. It was patchy and dirty and ugly, but it wasn't just an ordinary hat. It was the Sorting Hat and, now placed on top of the school, it began to sing:

 

_When I was a young and shiny hat,_

_More beautiful than you would think,_

_There were four mighty wizards_

_That all just had a drink;_

_They were the greatest wizards_

_And witches of their time,_

_Beautiful and strong,_

_Smart and wise and all things fine;_

_These wizards, as you all know,_

_This school they decided to start,_

_They found this perfect castle_

_And worked with all their heart:_

_It was Sir Godric Gryffindor,_

_The bravest of the brave,_

_He was daring and had nerve_

_And knew how to behave;_

_With him was Miss Hufflepuff,_

_She valued loyalty the most,_

_A kind and patient woman,_

_She was the perfect host;_

_Her friend Rowena Ravenclaw_

_Learned something everyday,_

_Wisdom and wit and a ready mind_

_Got her a long way;_

_And last was dear old Slytherin,_

_A very cunning man,_

_Who valued purity before all_

_And ambition, he had a plan;_

_Now this was thousand years ago,_

_They're all dead if I'm not wrong,_

_But put me on and I will tell you_

_In which house you belong;_

_Come along, sit down right here_

_And put me on your head;_

_I will tell you where to go_

_For I am the Sorting Hat!_

 

The whole Hall erupted in applause and the hat bowed when Professor Longbottom began to speak.

“Silent, please, everyone. Now, when I read off your name, please come forward and sit on the stool. When the Sorting Hat has decided your house, you may go and sit down at the table. Let's begin!”

With this, he began reading the names and one after another, the first years sat down, Professor Longbottom put the hat on their heads and it shouted out their house, usually very quickly, but sometimes it could take a few minutes.

The first student to be sorted was “Abrams, Mary-Anne” who, after a quick consideration, became a Ravenclaw.

Next up was “Bones, Neil”, it was silent, then -

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat shouted, and the boy quickly hurried over to the table, greeted by cheers.

“Braham, Gabriel”

“RAVENCLAW!” the hat shouted.

Professor Longbottom kept reading names and Albus watched the group of first-years in the front get smaller and smaller as they got sorted. And finally-

“Scamander, Lorcan”

The small, blonde-haired boy almost ran over to the stool and sat down, squinting his eyes as the way too large hat was placed on head, covering half of his face. Albus held his breath, he longed for someone else that was (almost) part of the family to be a Slytherin. All of his cousins had someone else in their house, and he didn't want to be the only Slytherin. If it was any other house it'd be fine, but with the prejudice that still existed, it was hard.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

He sunk down, Scorpius noticing the defeat in his friend. He guessed the reason but knew that Albus would never admit to feeling like this, so he just leaned over and whispered: “Hey, maybe the other one's gonna be a Slytherin, you never know.” Albus smiled, thankful. He knew that Scorpius understood and was there for him.

Lysander was already sitting on the stool now and the professor carefully placed the hat on his light blond locks. It took longer than the sorting of his brother, a minute, then two, whispers were now filling the air, three minutes, when finally -

“SLYTHERIN!”

Albus was almost sure he was hallucinating, but he saw Lysander sit down at his table next to the other first-year Slytherins, he saw everyone at the Slytherin table cheer and congratulate him. Lysander looked over to him and waved, smiling happily. “Look, I'm a Slytherin, just like you, Al!”

Albus nodded. “I'm happy to have you in my house, Lys.”

The rest of the sorting didn't take long, and finally, the last person - “Yackley, Emma” - got sorted into Hufflepuff. Professor Longbottom put the hat and stool away before sitting down next to Professor McGonagall at the teachers' table. Albus only now noticed that Hagrid had also joined the teachers, probably a while ago during the sorting.

“Man, I'm just so hungry,” Scorpius next to him groaned.

Albus just nodded and looked over to the teachers' table where he knew the headmistress was about to stand up and say a few words before the meal started.

“Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts! I hope this year will be full of learning for all of us! Enjoy the meal!”

When Albus looked down on the table, it was filled with delicious food: Potatoes (in many dfferent shapes and sizes), all kinds of vegetables, beef and chicken (prepared in many different ways), gravy, buiscits, salads. He began filling up his plate with lots of different things and saw Scorpius was already eating. During the meal, they didn't talk much, only comments about how good the food was and how great the house elves were.

After his second plate, Albus decided he had had enough for now. After all, he wanted to save some room for the best part of every meal, which was obviously the deserts.

“Scorpius, how many plates have you had already?” He asked at the sight of his friend filling up his plate yet again.

“Only three. I'm not taking a lot this time though. It's just so delicious.”

Albus just shook his head and laughed. He had a sweet tooth and loved to eat, but Scorpius could eat like a bear. So Albus looked around. He saw Lysander talk to the other first-years, but over all the noise that filled the room he couldn't make out what they were talking about. Judging by their hand gestures and facial expressions, it had to be pretty interesting. All around him most people had finished eating, many were leaning back or holding their stomach. He didn't feel particularly stuffed, but then again, desert had yet to come.

“Okay, I think I'm done now.” Scorpius announced next to him.

“Are you still feeling okay or are you already at that stage where you just feel sick from eating too much? Do I need to get you a bucket?” Albus was mocking him, like every year, because every year, he ate too much.

“Hey, I have never actually thrown up at the dinner table.” Scorpius defended himself.

“Anyway, who was that guy again you are supposed to set up with your cousin?”

Albus had forgotten about that bet, to focused on the sorting and the food.

“Kyler Darrel. He's...” he looked around, trying to find him. “He's sitting over there, see, behind that big bowl of mashed potatoes.”

Scorpius tried to nonchalantly look over there, but failed miserably: He made eye contact with Kyler because he just happened to look in their direction and immediately blushed. He tried to cover it up by shaking his head and pretending he'd zoned out.

“God, Scorpius, you're such a dork,” Albus laughed. “The red suits you though, maybe you should start wearing lipstick.”

“Oh, shut up.” Scorpius tried to look offended for about a second before also laughing.

They got distracted by the left over food on the table vanishing in front of their eyes, and Albus got excited.

“It's time for dessert. Dessert truly is the best part of every meal.”

And in that moment, the dishes on the table filled up again, this time with cakes and pies and ice cream and puddings and fruits, just about everything you could possibly want.

Albus started grabbing the best looking things – strawberries, chocolate cake, mint ice cream – when he noticed Scorpius' unsure look.

“What?”

“I'm not sure if I can eat anymore.”

Albus grinned.

“Afraid you are gonna finally throw up at the dinner table?”

Scorpius made a face.

“Wow, thanks, just the thought of that ruined all the appetite I had left.”

“That's alright, mate. That means there's more for me.”

Scorpius just looked at him with an appalled face.

“You do realize there's a basically unlimited amount of everything.”

Albus just shook his head.

“So? You know, it makes you wonder what they do with the left overs. Surely the house elves can't eat all that,” he responded in between bites.

They continued to banter while Albus ate his dessert, but soon, everybody stopped eating and the dishes cleaned themselves miraculously. Professor McGonagall got to her feet again.

“I would like to say a few more words before this evening is over. First of all, a few reminders: The forest on school grounds is forbidden for all students to enter. Also, no magic should be used between classes in the hallways. Tomorrow at breakfast everybody will get their timetables. Should any of the upperclassmen have anything to discuss, please consult the head of your house. For Gryffindor, this is Professor Longbottom, responsible for Ravenclaw is Professor Dane. Hufflepuff, you will go to Professor Blackburn and Slytherin, your head of house is Professor McManon.

“Furthermore, Quidditch trials will be hold in three weeks, there will be a sign-up sheet hanging out shortly. First-years, please follow your prefects to your dormitories.”

It got loud in the Great Hall as everybody started heading towards the exit, and Albus and Scorpius also got up.

“Do you know the password?” Albus asked, suddenly realizing that he had no idea what it was.

“I think it's 'unity'. I heard the girls next to me talking about it.”

They followed the crowd out of the Great Hall and headed downstairs towards the dungeon. When they arrived at the entrance to their common room, Kyler Darrel was standing outside, almost seeming lost.

“Hey, do you guys know the password?”

“Oh yeah, it's 'unity'.” As soon as Albus said these words, several stones in the wall lit up and slid apart, revealing a doorway.

“Thanks, dude.” Kyler said and walked through the doorway into their common room. Albus and Scorpius followed shortly after.

Usually, they liked spending time in their common room. It was quite beautiful. A large room, lit by several greenish lamps and a big fireplace in the middle. The windows revealed the bottom of the lake, sometimes you could spot fish and merpeople. Some students liked to say that they had seen the Giant Squid, but no one really believed them. Lots of dark-green and black sofas and armchairs were positioned next to tables all around the room. However, now the boys didn't pay attention to any of it. They headed straight to their dormitory that they shared with several other classmates. But when they got there, they realized they were the first ones to arrive.

“Well, I'm gonna head straight to bed,” Albus said and started getting ready. Scorpius copied him, also wanting to sleep.

“Night, Scorpius,” Albus said when he was all tugged in .

“Goodnight.”

And with that, he quickly feel asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the third chapter, maybe leave a comment with constructive criticism or tell me what you liked!  
> Also, do you maybe want to know how old I made all of the characters (all the other cousins) and in which houses I put them? Let me know if you wanna know.


	4. Kyler Darren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus wakes up early and waits for Scorpius. They have Transfiguration class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have included a note of who is in which house at the end.

**Albus**

 

_The Slytherin common room, Hogwarts_

_September 13, 2021_

_7:27 am_

 

It was mostly quiet at this hour in the common room. Most people were either still asleep, or getting ready for the day. The common room, however, was empty. It was dimly lit, the dark green and silver tones had a calming effect on the overall atmosphere. The only sound was he swishing of the water. Albus had been awake for about an hour, and while it was usually Scorpius who awoke early and had to wait for his friend to wake up, this time it was the other way around: Scorpius had gone to bed late the night before, engrossed in a book that he had borrowed from the library the very day. Albus was fairly sure that his friend hadn't even registered when he left the common room to go to bed with a “Night, Scorpius. Don't stay up too late, alright?”, he had gotten no response at least. However, by now he was used to this: Scorpius could get lost in books like no one else, and when that happened, he didn't notice anything around him. The castle could burn down and Scorpius would still sit in his armchair reading. Nothing but the words in the page and the vision in his head mattered in that moment.

After taking a shower and putting on his school uniform, Albus had wandered into the common room, desperate for a distraction until his friend woke up. He had contemplated working on some homework he was behind on – a particular essay for _History of Magic_ on the topic of how wand legislations had contributed to the goblin riots of the 18th century, 4ft parchment “at least”, as Professor Binns had insisted – but he had quickly decided against it. It was way too early for his brain to be working properly, and it was more fun to complete his homework together with Scorpius, who was also a great help.

Suddenly, noise was coming from the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories, voices and footsteps.

“...believe his attitude? Anyways, have you read the new Anastasia Alamanore book?”

He didn't recognize the voice, but the footsteps were getting louder and Albus quickly and without thinking hid behind a small sofa in the far corner of the room. He liked to avoid others when possible, especially when he was alone.

“The one from last year, with useful hexes against creepy dudes?”

This was a different voice, a little bit lower and still kind of sleepy, but he didn't recognize it either.

“No, the new one, it literally just came out. It's called _'The Feminist Witch – Why We Need To Support Muggles'_ ” the first voice clarified.

Then the two girls entered the common room. Both were from year 6. One of them was tall with very dark, curly hair, he believed her name was Leah Alastair. The other girl he didn't know the name of. She was only a little bit shorter, blonde, almost white hair and very pale skin, he could even see the blue veins underneath it. Thankfully, they didn't notice him, just crossed straight through the common room and left it, presumably to get breakfast.

Albus had heard all about the book they were talking about. While it was targeted towards women, Scorpius liked to educate himself on important and relevant matters like this. After reading it, he had discussed the book extensively with Albus, even read him some excerpts. The book talked about how witches – especially pure-bloods – had to stand up for half-bloods, muggle-borns, muggles, squibs and anybody that had less privilege. Both boys were raised to believe in equality, so they completely agreed with the contents of the book.

While Albus was deep in thoughts about the book, he suddenly heard his name being called out. When he stood up, Scorpius was standing in the doorway that led to the boys' dormitories, still in his pajamas and with messy, unkempt hair.

“Albus, what exactly were you doing behind the sofa?”

He blushed. While thinking about the book, he had completely forgotten that he had been crouching behind a sofa in an attempt to hide from people. Obviously it had worked, not only once, but twice even.

“Uhm. Nothing. You slept in long.” He quickly changed the subject.

Scorpius nodded.

“Stayed up 'til three in the morning.” He yawned accordingly. “Finished the book though.”

Albus grinned. He loved it when his friend was still half asleep, his adorable side came out then.

“Well, better go and get ready, you can tell me all about it over breakfast. I'm starving.”

“Fine,” Scorpius grumbled and turned back to where he came from. Albus followed him to gather all the things he needed for his first few classes of the day because they probably wouldn't have time to get them after breakfast.

 

When Scorpius had finally gotten ready, it was almost half an hour later. On the way up to the Great Hall, he wouldn't shut up about the book he had read the night before. It seemed like he didn't even stop to breathe, he just kept on talking faster, stumbling over words, eyes wide, his hands moving quickly, back and forth, his gestures adding to the retelling of the contents of the book. Albus had learned to just let his friend say what he needed to say in situations like this, not to interrupt him when passion had gotten ahold of him. He enjoyed it, though, loved Scorpius' excitement and sometimes almost childish joy. By the time they got to breakfast, Scorpius had finished.

“Anyways, yeah, it was a great book,” he said when sat down at their table. “You should read it.”

Albus chuckled while loading his plate with toast.

“Scorpius, I know what the whole book is about. What should I read it for?”

Scorpius just shook his head.

“For the experience, Albus Potter! The author writes beautifully! Gosh, you really aren't an appreciator of the arts.”

“Hey, that's not fair!” Albus protested. “I do appreciate it. Talking about books, two girls were talking about _The Feminist Witch_ earlier.”

He looked up and down the table to find them. Dozens of students were eating already, some were chatting with their friends, some sitting alone, some reading while absent mindedly nibbling on a piece of toast. Some were even frantically scribbling down what was presumabely forgotten homework. The girls were sitting not too far from them at the other side of the table, talking to a boy that Albus recognized.

“There they are, next to Kyler Darrel.”

Scorpius gave them a quick glance before answering. “What were they saying about the book?”

But Albus was focused on something entirely else now. “I still need your help figuring out how I'm gonna set up Kyler and Rox.”

Scorpius frowned and looked over to the three sixth-years again.

“What if he's dating one of them?”

“Are you being serious right now, Scorpius?”

“What?” he asked, clearly not knowing what Albus was talking about. While his friend was one of the smartest and most well-read people he knew, sometimes some things would just completely go past him.

“He is not dating one of them. Even if he wanted to, they're not interested,” he explained.

“How do you know?” Scorpius continued. “Look at the way the tall one's smiling at him.”

Albus smiled.

“I know they aren't interested in him because they are interested in each other. They are dating. Haven't you ever noticed them in the common room, always holding hands and being all touchy in general?”

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and tilted his head a little. “I mean, now that you mention it, but I just thought that's how girls are. How was I supposed to know?”

He almost laughed out loud when Scorpius said that, the sound of desperation in his voice too hilarious.

“Well, yeah, they are dating. Anyways, that's not really important right now. How do I set up that guy with my cousin?”

Scorpius nodded thoughtfully.

“You know, I was actually thinking about that last night. Couldn't sleep after I finished the book.”

Albus waited for his friend to continue, but he just started eating his cereal. He rolled his eyes. “So?”

“What do you mean, 'so'?”

“What did you come up with?”

“Oh, nothing really. But we'll find something, I'm positive.”

With that he just kept shoveling cereal into his mouth. Albus groaned.

“We better do. Believe me, you don't want me to lose either.”

As soon as he said that, Albus regretted it. He really didn't wanna tell his friend what it was, and Scorpius was now all ears.

“Why? What would the consequence be?”

“Just... never mind. Why did I even agree to this stupid bet?”

“Slytherin,” Scorpius said between two bites.

“I'm sorry?”

“You're a Slytherin,” he elaborated after swallowing. “Ambition, remember? It often leads you to agree to stupid bets.” He paused for a second. “Plus, you wanted to avoid doing your history homework if at all possible.”

Albus nodded. “True. By the way, I still need to finish that essay.”

Suddenly, a loud gong rang out.

“I'll help you with it later,” Scorpius promised as they got up to go to their first class. “We have Transfiguration, right?”

“Yup, with the Hufflepuffs.”

Together, they followed the crowd up the stairs and hoped they wouldn't move and take them somewhere ridiculous. Even with Scorpius' brains power, there had been a lot of getting lost in the first few months of their first year. When a first year had somehow managed to disappear for five hours trying to find the way to their class a year later, the school started giving out maps for the first-years at the beginning of the school year that showed you where you were and where you had to go.

The Transfiguration teacher was Professor Dane. She was Head of Ravenclaw, an about 50-year-old woman who liked to joke around with her students and tried to make the lessons as entertaining and interesting as possible, which Albus was grateful for. However, if the class wasn't behaving, she wasn't afraid to give additional homework. She had a very short hair cut, which some ignorant students liked to joke about behind her back. Albus was ashamed when he thought back to his first year, when his first impression of her hadn't been a positive one either and was very much based on stereotypical judgements.

When the boys entered the classroom, Professor Dane was already standing at the front desk, a couple of students were sitting at desks throughout the room. As usual, they sat down at a desk in the back. Albus had learned that sitting in the back meant that less people were gonna stare at him or talk about him, and with him being the son of the great Harry Potter and all the rumours that had surrounded Scorpius, both preferred this.

A few minutes later, all the students had finally arrived and Professor Bane was ready to start her lesson.

“Good morning, students. Now, usually, this would be one of the last things we do in this school year, but I had a little idea that I thought might be fun: I will give you guys this week to try to transform an owl into an opera glass. I don't expect any of you to actually manage it, it is an extremely complicated task, however, this will be a little test. After this week we will continue with our original curriculum and at the end of the year, we will see if you can perform the spell then.”

Immediately there was chatter around the room. This was an unusual thing to do, but the students were quite excited. This would quickly turn into a competition between students, that was certain.

“First, let's go up to the owlery to get our...”

Professor Dane wasn't able to finish her sentence because of the suddenly opening door. Albus almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Kyler Darren stand in the doorway.

“Excuse me, Professor, I don't mean to interrupt. Could I maybe steal one of your students real quick, it'll only take a second.”

The professor nodded. “Someone else will bring them an owl then. Who do you need?”

“Thank you, Professor.” Kyler responded. “If I could maybe talk to Mr. Potter?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, as promised, I will tell you who is in which house in this fic. James and Lily are in Gryffindor, like in canon, James is two years older, Lily two years younger than Albus, which is, as far as I'm concerned, also canon. Also canon is Rose being the same age as Albus and also sorted into Gryffindor, And Teddy Lupin being a Hufflepuff who is 8 years older than Albus. Every other sorting and age is now my own headcanon: Hugo, Rose's brother, is Lily's age and Hufflepuff. Fred Weasley II is three years older and Gryffindor, his sister Roxanne is a year older than Albus and Ravenclaw. Percy's kids are both in ravenclaw, Molly being 5 years older than Albus, Lucy two. Bill and Fleur's kids are all in three different houses: Victoire is the oldest Weasley cousin (which is canon, also she is born on May 2nd canonly), and 5 years older than Albus. She is Gryffindor. Her younger sister Dominique is born a year after her (still in the same grade) and Hufflepuff. Lastly, their brother Louis is 3 years older than Albus and Ravenclaw.  
> Maybe write in the comments which of these head canons you agree/disagree with and how you would sort them?


	5. Quidditch?

**Albus**

 

_The Transfiguration classroom, Hogwarts_

_September 13, 2021_

_9:12am_

 

Albus swallowed. He couldn't understand what was happening. What did Kyler want from him? Did he find out about the bet? Panic was starting to rise in him, he couldn't move and he didn't realize the teacher was talking to him until Scorpius nudged him with his knee.

“Mr. Potter?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” he mumbled.

“You can go ahead now, I am sure Mr. Malfoy will be so lovely as to bring you an owl,” Professor Dane repeated.

“Yes, Professor, thank you.”

He slowly got up, looking over to Scorpius who seemed as confused as he was. After turning around he finally faced Kyler, who was still waiting in the doorway and just then thanking the professor for letting him speak to Albus. With shaky knees (at least they felt shaky, but Scorpius later reassured him that it hadn't been visible), Albus walked towards the door. He felt everybody's eyes on his back, all of them staring at him and probably wondering why Kyler Darren, a popular sixth-year, Quiddtch star, prefect even, needed to talk to him, Albus Severus Potter, a meaningless, unimportant fifth-year, only known because of his last name.

He was about halfway through the classroom now and looked back at his friend, panic in his eyes, a questioning look on his face, but all Scorpius could do was shake his head as if to say _I don't know whats going on either_.

Albus turned back around and continued walking. He could faintly hear Professor Dane talking in the background. Step after step, he reduced the distance between himself and Kyler. When he got closer, Kyler stepped to the side to let him through the door and then closed it behind them.

“Let's go over here,” he said and gestured towards another hallway. Albus just nodded and followed him. When they were standing a little seperated from all the classrooms, Kyler finally started talking.

“You probably know why I'm here?”

Albus' heart dropped. It had to be about the bet, it just had to. There was nothing else that connected them.

“Uhm... I do?” His voice was shaking, and the first word barely audible, he had to clear his throat once, twice so that it actually came out and wasn't just some hot air escaping his mouth.

Kyler nodded.

“You probably know me already, but if you don't: I'm Kyler Darren, sixth-year, I assume you've seen me around the common room. As you probably also know, I play Quidditch since my second year and am now team captain.”

Albus was barely registering the words. His hands were sweating.

“Now, under different circumstances I wouldn't do this, but Senetin graduated last year and - “

“Who?” Albus interrupted without thinking about it. By now, he was basically running on auto-pilot.

“What?” Kyler seemed confused.

“Who's Senetin?”

Kyler paused for a second and looked at him with wide eyes.

“You don't know who – uhm, okay, this conversation might actually go different than I thought. Senetin was our team captain last year – excellent Quidditch player, chaser. Well, from the try-outs over the last years I know that there's no decent Quidditch players in our house and the second-years are usually okay, but not brilliant. And we need someone brilliant to beat your brother.”

Kyler stopped speaking and smiled at him, waiting for a response. Albus still didn't know what this was about.

“Quidditch?” This one word was all he could say.

“Excuse me?”

“You're talking about Quidditch?” Albus spoke slowly, breaks between his words, trying to understand what was happening.

“Yes, of course I'm talking about Quidditch, what else would I be talking about?” He seemed to get a little bit irritated and impatient now, so without giving Albus a chance to respond, he just continued talking.

“Listen, Gryffindor is gonna kick our bloody ass this year if we don't get another player who's actually good. Two of our best graduated last year. You gotta have some experience, your dad was Harry Potter, dammit, the youngest seeker in over a hundred years and your mom played for the goddamn Harpies. Your brother is one of the best players at this school. Even your grandfather was amazing. I want you to try out for our Quidditch team, bloody hell.”

After this little and heated speech, Kyler took a deep breath before adding, much more calmly: “Obviously I can't agree that you get a spot on the team before I see you play, but with what I expect from you, I have high hopes. What do you say?”

Albus almost started laughing.

“This is all about Quidditch? I can't believe it.”

“Yes, this is all about Quidditch. I really need someone good or we are gonna be the joke of this whole school.”

Albus looked the older boy in the eye. Kyler's face was serious.

“Well, then prepare to be laughed at because I'm rubbish at Quidditch, seriously. You don't want me on your team.”

Kyler sighed.

“You were my last hope.”  
Suddenly, Albus remembered something.

“I know who could maybe help you though.”  
Kyler's eyes lit up.

“Who?”

Albus grinned.

“He's been practicing a lot over the past few years, especially over the summer, I think. Scorpius. Malfoy.” He quickly added the last name. “I could convince him to try out if you want. I'm sure he's great, definitely a lot better than I am.”

Kyler nodded enthusiastically.

“My gosh, thank you so much. We really need someone good.”

With those words, he turned around and quickly walked away, and Albus was left alone in the dark hallway. All the tension he had build up, all the anxiety was leaving his body and he could breathe freely now. He stayed in the hallway for a minute before returning to class, collecting his thoughts. He made a mental note to tell Roxanne about this encounter later that day (she would probably be disappointed that he didn't take this opportunity and hadn't accepted the offer, but he really didn't want to make a fool out of himself during the try-outs). Scorpius would kill it though, that Albus knew for sure.

Suddenly, he realized it was the middle of the lesson and hurried back to class.

 


	6. Quidditch!

**Albus**

 

_The Outer Area, Hogwarts_

_September 13, 2021_

_1:12pm_

 

“He really wanted you to try out for the Quidditch team?”

It was noon and Scorpius and Albus were sitting outside under a big tree by the lake, enjoying one of the last warm days of this year. Most of the leaves had turned colour by now, so the Forbidden Forest in the distance looked more colourful than ever. Instead of the usual green, the trees were yellow, orange, brown and – when the sun was hitting them just right – even shimmered golden.Many students had decided to bring their lunch outside to sit and talk while eating and maybe do some overdue homework for one of their classes.

Normally, Albus and Scorpius would have stayed inside to avoid the big masses, but when he had seen that Kyler was headed towards the Great Hall, Albus had quickly grabbed Scorpius' arm and pulled him away. Under only mild protest, Scorpius had followed him outside and had then demanded that Albus tell the story again of what exactly had happened.

“Yes, I told you, he just wanted to talk about Quidditch. He had no clue,” Albus repeated for about the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

“But you're not even good at Quidditch!” Scorpius exclaimed.

“Wow, thanks, Scorp. I see now why I've become friends with you, with all the positivity and such,” Albus replied sarcastically.

The other boy just looked at him for a second before answering. “Did you just call me 'Scorp'? When did that happened?”

He shrugged. “I thought you needed a nickname. And it just felt right.”

Scorpius nodded before explaining his original statement: “Anyways, you know what I mean. You and I both know you're rubbish at Quidditch.”

Albus grinned and rolled his eyes. A slight breeze came up and the leaves above them started moving and brushing against each other, creating a light, crisp sound. The same sound also came from the Forbidden Forest, just louder, amplified by the huge amount of trees. It almost sounded like a swarm of bees, thousands of them, flying by. The wind also ruffled through the boys' hair.

“I know that I suck – as you've so politely pointed out – but he's never seen me fly. He just assumed, you know, my parents, James, surely I had to be good.”

These words left a slight taste of bitterness in his mouth. While is relationship with his dad had improved, words could not be unsaid, and sometimes, they still hurt. He quickly changed the topic.

“But... I told Kyler that I knew somebody that isn't me – someone else, you see – who I could maybe convince to try out because they're a way better player than I am.”  
Scorpius frowned and tilted his head a little.

“Wait, who?”

Albus shook his head and smiled fondly.

“You, you spork.”

“Me? You told the Quidditch captain that _I_ am his solution against losing?”

Albus shrugged.

“I panicked, okay? I felt bad for letting him down. Plus, you mentioned that you would like to play for the team.”

Scorpius inhaled deeply, then let it all out in one big sigh.

“In theory, yes, I would love to play. But actually doing it is a completely different thing. There's gonna be dozens of people watching, just at the try-outs.”

Albus nodded understandingly. He had declined his Kyler's offer because he didn't want to make a fool out of himself in front of others, so he knew why Scorpius was hesitant. But he also knew that his friend would be brilliant.

“Hey, it'll be fine, don't worry. Just go to the try-outs next week and if you suck, it'll be over, which you won't, by the way, because you'll be the best player out there. You can't really bail out anyways 'cause Kyler already put your name on the sign-up sheet. In all caps.” He chuckled. “He must be really desperate. And even if you're terrible, you can't be worse than all the second-years that'll try out.”

Every year, at least half of the second-years tried out for the Quidditch team of their house, believing they were _the_ next star and that Quidditch was their true destiny. Naturally, in reality it looked a bit different than what they imagined.

Albus could sense that his friend still wasn't a hundred per cent sure about this, so he quickly added: “We've still got a week to prepare you, we can practice every night, if it helps you. And I'll be there to support you, obviously. I'll watch you kick everybody's asses.”

Finally, Scorpius smiled again and seemed a little more at ease with the whole idea of trying out for the Quidditch team.

“Fine. But only under two conditions!”

Albus smiled. He had won. “Anything.”

“First, you really do have practice with me every night, starting today. And second, if I make it, you'll have to come to every game.” He stopped and thought for a second. “Dressed in all Slytherin clothes. I mean like really overboard.” Another short pause. “And you have to bring a poster everytime.”

Albus groaned. “Seriously?”

“You said anything,” Scorpius reminded him with the sweetest, most innocent voice.

 

After a double lesson of Charms, the boys headed down to their common room to work on some homework. They had debated going to the library, but had decided to postpone that to the next day and just do all the homework they could do without the help of additional books for now before heading to the Quidditch fields, just like Albus had promised.

But before they could say the password for the door – it had already changed to 'beau idéal' – Kyler suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Oh, hey, Albus. Um, did you get a chance to talk to that friend of yours?”

Albus had to hold back a laugh.

“Uhm, yeah, actually.”

He looked at Scorpius.

“I'm that friend, hi,” he muttered awkwardly.

Kyler seemed relieved.

“Oh great, so you're Scorpius. Thank you so much for trying out, I really need a new talent – wait, you are trying out, right?”

Scorpius smiled brightly. “Yeah, I am, don't worry.”

“Thank you so much. I'll see you next week then.”

And with that, Kyler was gone again. The boys looked each other in the eyes and managed to hold it in for about a second before they burst out laughing.

“So. Now you've met your future team captain too,” Albus said after they had gotten their breath back. “He's nice, isn't he?”

Scorpius nodded. “Yeah. His mind seems to be all over the place, really. I can see why Roxanne likes him though.”  
There was a sudden twinge in Albus' stomach when Scorpius said that, it was like a knife being twisted around in there. It confused him. He didn't know what it was or why it happened, but he was a little grumpier and more irritated for the rest of the day, the awful feeling never really leaving him.

 

On their way to the Quidditch field after dinner, Albus brought up a topic that they hadn't talked a lot about this year.

“So, how're things going with Rose, Romeo?” Albus joked.

Scorpius laughed and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“You know, I don't think it's actually going somewhere. Turns out I just liked the idea of her. I mean, she's attractive – hell, you're entire family must have the best genes ever, mate – but I think I really just thought that dating her, well, dating someone from your family, a child of the Golden Trio, as they say, would maybe make things okay with my dad and them. He never really talks about it, but I know he feels awful about what happened while they were at school.”

Hearing that Scorpius wasn't interested in Rose anymore made that awful feeling in his stomach go away. He just didn't want his best friend going out with his cousin, Albus said to himself.

“Well, I mean, I have plenty of other cousins or siblings you can date if that's what it was about,” he replied grinning, even though just saying this made him feel almost sick.

They both just laughed, and that's when they arrived at the Quidditch field and practiced until dark.

 

It was late now. Scorpius and Albus had gone to bed about half an hour ago. The moon was shining through the window of their dormitory, and two of the other three boys had closed the curtains around their beds to let no lights in. Samuel's bed as well as both Scorpius' and Albus' didn't have the curtains drawn, and from where he was laying, Albus could see the moonlight reflect on Scorpius' sleeping face. It was a beautiful picture, the moon light made his hair appear almost silver and his skin glow. He looked like an angel, Albus thought.

Because of the way his bed was positioned, he wasn't able to see the actual moon through the window, but he could see the stars. They were thousands of light years away, and yet he could see them right there, right then in his bed. He had always been intrigued by stars, they had fascinated him when he was a little boy and fascinated him until this day. At home, he had books about them. Mostly muggle books, with names and numbers and facts. He had gotten them on one of the few occasions they went to Muggle-London. Albus loved visiting the Muggle world, it existed so close to the wizarding world and yet it was totally different. It amazed him. The people amazed him. They looked at him and saw a normal teenage boy, not the son of Harry Potter. It was like being undercover.

Sometimes he wished he was just a muggle, a normal teenage boy, no famous father, no magic, no Hogwarts, just a normal boy at a normal school with a normal family. It would be nice, but then Albus remembered that he would have never met Scorpius if it wasn't for his father and magic and Hogwarts; and Scorpius was the most amazing person in the world, he couldn't live without him.

Thinking about Scorpius reminded him of earlier that day, when he had made that comment about Kyler being nice. He hadn't figured out what bothered him so much about it that it was still on his mind, depriving him of sleep. But he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

“ _I can see why Roxanne likes him.”_

Albus turned around, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in where his mind would finally settle down, but it seemed impossible. Again he looked over at his friend. Just watching him sleep made him feel warm, content, at home. He closed his eyes and - after the principle 'Fake it til you make it' pretended to be asleep until he actually was, way too late at night for him to get enougn sleep.

 


	7. Try-Outs

**Albus**

 

_The Slytherin Common Room_

_September 21, 2021_

_5:01pm_

 

“How are you feeling?” Albus asked, breaking the silence between them. They hadn't spoken a word in almost five minutes.

There were about two dozen people in the common room, most of them studying or doing homework, their voices background noise. Albus and Scorpius, however, were sat on a sofa doing absolutely nothing then watching the clock.

Tic.

Toc.

Tic.

Toc.

“ 'm fine,” Scorpius mumbled. He had his feet on the sofa – the shoes he had slipped out of previous to sitting down laying in front of it –, knees up to his chest, his arms hugging his legs. His broom was leaning against the back of the sofa.

“Sure you are,” Albus responded. “And I'm the current president of the United States.”

“You're not a woman though.”  
“What?”

“It's a woman. The current president of the United States – she's a woman,” Scorpius explained.

“Well, whatever.” Albus rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Scorpius didn't respond. Sometimes, he could be a bit difficult when it came to dealing with his emotions.Usually, he was very expressive about what he was feeling, but when it came to nervousness, he quickly just shut down.

“What time did you say the try outs started, again?” Scorpius changed the topic.

Albus glanced over to the clock. 5:04.

“Five thirty,” he said.

“Don't you think we should leave right now? So that we're not late?”

Albus sighed.

“It takes us literally less than ten minutes to get there, Scorp, you know that.”

Scorpius nodded slowly.

“But what if there's a storm? Or... or there's so many people in the hallway that we can't get through and it takes us ten minutes longer? Or – “

“Scorpius,” Albus interrupted him. “Relax, it's gonna be okay. We can leave at quarter past five, okay? That still gives us plenty of time.” He tried to give his voice a calming tone to it.

Scorpius just nodded.

Tic.

Toc.

Tic.

Toc.

Albus looked around the common room. He spotted a few people wearing Quidditch gear, most were sitting in pairs or groups of three, quietly whispering with each other. However, there was a group of five second-years, all nervously huddled in a corner, holding there brooms, all speaking at the same time, just rambling, going on and on about this or that, so loud that even Albus could understand everything – and he was sitting across the room from them.

“I heard Albus Potter is already part of the team. He doesn't even need to try out, he's just that good;” One of them said, a tall girl with glasses.

Albus grinned. Rumours travelled fast, and the Quidditch team pulling him out of a lesson hadn't been ignored.

“That's not fair!” A boy chimed in. “Just 'cause he's a Potter.”  
“I heard Harry Potter personally came up here and talked to Kyler and demanded that Albus has a spot on the team!” A third one added.

Soon they were all caught up in conspiracy theories involving him that got weirder by the second. Out of the corners of his eyes he could see them looking over every once in a while. He thought about turning around just when they were looking and initiating eye contact, but decided against it and instead shot another glance at the clock. 5:09. Might as well.

“Scorp? You ready?” He asked.

Scorpius looked up.

“It's time?”

Albus nodded.

“Yeah, we can leave now – better than sitting around in silence for another five minutes.”  
They both got up.

Scorpius took a deep breath before grabbing his broom.

“Okay. I'm ready.”

Albus looked at him and put a hand encouragly on his shoulder.

“You're gonna kill it out there, mate.”

Scorpius nodded and together they made their way to the Quidditch fields. When they left the common room, Albus turned around and could see the second-years getting up to leave to. It really wouldn't take them long to get there, he thought when they exited the castle. It was a nice day, a little chilly, a little windy, but the sun was shining and it wasn't raining, so really, for September it was a perfect day and they couldn't have wished for better Quidditch weather. While walking towards the fields, they could see the Whomping Willow and, a little bit further away, Hagrid's hut, both set in front of the background of the beautifully intimidating forest that neither of the boys had ever set foot in, despite Albus having heard all the stories his dad had told about it.

“You know, my dad crushed into the Whomping Willow once.” Albus tried to start a conversation and distract his friend from the try-outs. “With a flying car.”

“Really?” Scorpius asked, looking over to the monstrous tree that was lazily moving its branches.

“Yeah, he and Uncle Ron missed the train because of this house elf so they stole grandpa's flying car and followed the train. But –“

He was cut off by Scorpius. “Honestly, that sounds really interesting, but can you tell me about that later. I just really wanna concentrate on Quidditch right now.”

“Sure thing, Scorp. I'll tell you tonight when you're officially part of the team.”

They had now reached the Quidditch pitch.

“So, I think Kyler wants us out on the field to kinda talk about what's going to happen first.”

“Okay, I'll be up on the bleachers cheering for you,” Albus responded.

“Please don't cheer for me, that would be embarrassing.”

“Fine, but I'll be cheering for you in my heart. You got this, Scorp. Come here.” He quickly hugged his friend. “Do the best you can out there.”

“Thanks, Albus.” Scorpius still sounded a bit nervous, but his voice had courage.

“Now go and impress Kyler.” Albus grinned and watched him run out on the pitch before trying to find a good place on the bleachers. After climbing up the stairs he looked around, unsure of where to go when he spotted someone and quickly made their way over to them.

“Roxi?” Albus asked with a frown on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“Al, hey!” She exclaimed excitedly. She was still in her school uniform, wearing a Ravenclaw scarf, her red, curly hair tied up in a ponytail.

“You're not here because of Kyler, are you?” Albus feared that this whole bet was more serious than he had expected if she had that big of a crush on that guy. And he really didn't want to go through with his punishment should he lose.

“Well.” His cousin shrugged while talking. “No, I'm not. Not exclusively at least. My friend Mira is trying out and I'm here to support her. I mean, she's gonna get in, she's been on the team for the last three years, but still, you know?”

Albus nodded.

“Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“Scorp is trying out.”

“Oh, Scorpius is trying out.,” She said with a smirk. “Tell him about the bet yet?”

“I did.” Albus knew why she was asking.

“Told him about your punishment, too?” Roxanne continued.

“No, obviously not. You know I didn't.” Albus was getting irritated and again regretted to have agreed to this bet.

“Well, it's gonna be a sweet surprise then for him. You think he'll like it?” Roxanne was giving him the most innocent, big smile, but Albus shook his head, making a less than pleased face.

“Just shut up! I hate you, you know that?”

She grinned.

“Love you too, Al.”

“Ugh, whatever. I'm gonna go sit over there.”

He walked away, purposefully not turning around when she shouted: “Remember: You got 'till the end of the school year!”

When he was a safe distance away from her, he sat down in an empty row and turned his eyes towards the pitch. He could see all the aspiring Quidditch players standing in a circle around Kyler, he spotted the five second-years that had talked about him in the common room and also spotted Scorpius, his back turned towards the bleachers. Kyler was standing in the middle, talking intensely to the contestants, but Albus couldn't make out a word.

Soon, everybody on the field was mounting their brooms, warming up, flying around, when Kyler called them again. This time he was speaking loud enough for Albus to hear him.

“I am going to shuffle you around a few times, see what position truly is the one for you, if there is one. I'm gonna split you up in three teams, we'll play a mini tournament. You three –“ He pointed to a group of fourth-years. “You two, you, and you – “ Each time he pointed at different people. “Are Team Red. Get over there.” He continued to separate the players into teams that seem fairly even age-wise. Scorpius ends up on Team Blue.

“First up will be Team Red against Team Yellow. Team Blue, clear the field. Let's go.” Kyler appointed every member a position, but Albus didn't pay attention to that. He watched Scorpius fly over to the bench at the far side of the pitch with the rest of the team. When he sat down, the boys met eyes and Albus smiled encouragly, not certain if Scorpius could make that out over the distance.

The teams on the field began playing now. Albus with his limited knowledge of Quidditch understood relatively nothing of what was going on, but even he could make out some incredibly skilled players, sixth- and seven-years that had probably been on the team for a while. Soon, a girl on Team Yellow made a goal and - before the match continued – Kyler shuffled the players around. Albus quickly grew bored of watching the match, so instead, he kept looking over to Scorpius who was talking to the girl next to him. Suddenly, the sound of a loud whistle startled him.

“Alright, thanks guys!” Kyler was yelling so that everybody could hear him. “Now, Yellow against Blue, please.”

Albus watched Scorpius get up, mount his broom and fly over to Kyler. He could sense the nervousness in his best friend.

“Listen up! You over there, Chaser, Miranda, join her, you too. You're the Keeper, Amira, Albert, you two are Beaters, and you, Scorpius - “ Albus straightened up when he heard his best friend's name “ - I want you as the Seeker. Got it, everybody? Let's go!”

The game started, and now, Albus was watching attentively. Not for one second did his eyes leave Scorpius who was circling above the rest of the players. From their practice over the past week he knew Albus didn't want to be a Seeker - he didn't like it, wasn't especially good at it. He feared that a position Scorpius wasn't comfortable or confident in would throw him off the rest of the game. However, the look was on his side when Miranda who – judging by Roxanne's excited shouting and yelling was her friend Mira – landed an early goal.

“Okay, you got this, Scorp, you got this. I believe in you. You can do this.” Albus kept murmuring as if Scorpius could hear him.

Next, Scorpius got put as a Beater. He managed to fend off every oncoming Blodger, but did not even come close to hitting another player with them. Every time a Blodger only came near him, Albus inhaled sharply and held his breath unil it was safely away from Scorpius. A member of the yellow team now made a goal – Albus wasn't sure how it happened, he had been watching Scorpius, but suddenly he heard people cheering and saw the yellow team celebrating. 

Being switched around again, Scorpius now got to play as a Chaser. This was the position he had wanted from the beginning, and after two average performances, Albus hoped that he could now impress Kyler. However, Scorpius did not lay hands on a ball once as Team Yellow quickly scored again, presumably a more experienced player.

“Alright, Red Team, you're up again!” Kyler shouted, and Scorpius hung his head down, seemingly discouraged. Albus knew how much he wanted this and he couldn't afford to mess up now. Not being able to help himself, Albus screamed: “You got this, Scorp! Show them what you're made off!”

Scorpius looked up, caught Albus's eye and smiled.

The match started again, Scorpius still as a seeker and this time, he seemed more determined. He was flying underneath everybody else and suddenly shot up with the speed of lightning, startling the yellow chaser with the Quaffel so much that they let it fall. Scorpius quickly scooped it out of the air and shot forward.

“GO SCORPIUS!” Albus yelled from the top of his lungs and, as if that was all the boy had needed, he raised his hand holding the Quaffel, threw – and it went through the left ring, completely unbothered by the Keeper that had tried to protect the right one.

Albus started cheering and around him, many other Slytherins joined him.

“Good job, buddy!” Kyler yelled on the field. “Let's see if you're as good of a Keeper as you are of a Chaser.” He quickly shuffled the rest of the positions and the match was on again. However, no ball even came close to Scorpius and soon, Team Blue had made another, final goal. Kyler called every player out on the field.

“Thank you guys, that's it! Now, I'll think a few minutes, then I'm gonna tell you who's gonna be on the Quidditch team this year.” 

Kyler left the field and headed towards the changing room while the players stayed in the air, everybody talking. Albus saw Scorpius looking over and waved, getting a small wave back before giving a thumbs up.

“You killed it, Scorp!” He yelled, hoping he would understand him.

After about two minutes, Kyler entered the pitch again and started talking, not to the players, but the audience. “May I present to you: The Slytherin Quidditch team of 2021! As our Keeper, we have Gabriel McAdams!” The crowd cheered as a tiny, scrawny kid flew forward on his broom who looked like he was nine. “The beaters, Amira and Albert!” He paused, waiting for the people to calm down. “Now, to our chasers.” Albus felt like his heart stopped. “Miranda –“ Roxanne began cheering. “Lin –“ Another girl joined Miranda, apparently someone who had been on the team before as well. “ And, a new addition to our team:” Albus held his breath. “Scorpius!”

“Yes! You did it, I told you you'd make it!”

Albus was just screaming and cheering and yelling, not progressing what he was saying himself. He knew Scorpius deserved it. He had worked hard for it and it had payed off.

Kyler continued talking: “Well, and I'm still Seeker, obviously. Thank you, everybody!” He turned back to the team and spoke for a few more minutes, and when he finally let them go, Albus raced towards the entry to the pitch to wait for Scorpius.

“You killed it, Scorp, you were so good! He would have been an idiot not to pick you.” He welcomed him with congratulating words and a big head.

“Thanks, Albus, I can't believe it.” Scorpius smiled from ear to ear, he glowed with confidence, joy and pride. ”Let's head back though, shall we? I'm exhausted, I just wanna shower.”

They started walking back.

“Now, why don't you tell me about your dad and the Whomping Willow?”

 


	8. A Whole Lot Of Homework

**Albus**

 

_The Slytherin Common Room_

_September 21, 2021_

_4:37pm_

 

“We should probably get started on that History of Magic essay, don't you think?” Albus asked, interrupting their game of Magical Chess.

“You're just tired of losing,” Scorpius laughed and he grinned because it was partly true.

“You know Strudwick's gonna kill us if we don't have our homework,” he reminded his friend.

He sighed. “Yeah, I know. You got some parchment I could use? I used the last of mine when I analysed how much more likely a person is to win a game of Magical Chess with their own chess figures compared to using someone else's.”

“You used all your parchment up for that? That wasn't even for a class!” Albus exclaimed.

“I know. It was interesting though.” Scorpius smiled at him.

He reached down to his bag and dug out a few rolls of parchment paper, a quill and a pot of ink.

“It's ridiculous they still make us use this. This isn't the middle ages anymore.” He handed some parchment over to Scorpius. “Here you go.”

They quickly put away their chess game, the figures loudly protesting.

“Who cares about homework? Just keep playing chess, come on,” came from one of Scorpius' knights and a very resignated “At least we won't lose again!” from Albus' king. He shoved his figures into the bag and tossed it onto the chair next to him.

“So, what topic was this supposed to be on again?”

“Something about the Giant Wars, I don't remember. We've been talking about those wars for the past like three years I swear.” Scorpius could always complain about certain subject's curriculi that for his liking were to one-sided and redundant.

“Well, to be fair, there have been a lot of Giant Wars. They seem to be very aggressive folks.”

“You know what's something we should talk about?”

“Or maybe they were just sick of being mistreated by the wizards,” Albus continued his thought, completely unfazed by what Scorpius had just said.

“If it's right to just keep the muggles in the dark about us and our existence; don't we have like a moral obligation towards them?” He also ignored his friend.

“I think we should just get started on this essay,” he suggested.

Scorpius sighed. “Yeah, you're probably right. There's no way around it after all.”

Albus got his school book out of his bag and started flipping through the pages.

“What are you doing?” Albus questioned him.

“Trying to find any useful information that could help us because I did not pay attention at all last lesson. I'm also pretty sure that I wrote the exact topic down somewhere in here.”

He nodded. “I see.”

A few seconds later he had found it. “Write at least 4ft on your own, personal opinion of whether or not the Giants had a right to attack the wizards in the Giant War of 1763,” he read out loud. “See, I have no idea. I don't even know what this particular war was about.”

“One more reason for you to play match-maker for your cousin,” Scorpius joked.

“Well, for now I'm still gonna have to do my own homework.”

For the next hour, they worked silently, the only sounds coming from they were the scraping of their quills on parchment, the occasional sigh and an exhausted: “Do you think I can write this?”

While some in the Common Room were also doing homework, most were pretty loud and distracting. They talked, laughed, played games and – mostly first-years – even ran around.

“How far have you got?” Albus asked, putting down his quill.

“Maybe three feet. You?” Scorpius answered, not looking up from his paper.

“Two and a half. And I've been making it as elaborate as possible. We're gonna have to keep working on it after supper.”

Now his head shot up.

“It's time for supper?”

“Yep. Come on, let's go, I'm starving!”

 

**Albus**

 

_The Great Hall_

_September 21, 2021_

_6:23pm_

 

“Honestly, I could eat this soup all day. It's delicious!”

Scorpius laughed. “Wow, I've never seen you eat that much of something that wasn't dessert.”

Albus stuck his tongue out at him before eating another spoonful.

“Shoot, it's almost half past six. I gotta go. Quidditch practice. See you later.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, he got up and quickly caught up with Kyler and another team member who were just leaving. Albus could see them talking and laughing when they exited the room and looked back down at his food.

Suddenly he had lost all his appetite.

 

Ten minutes later, he found himself in the library in need of a quiet place to finish his essay. He sat down at a table in a corner, hidden by rows of bookshelf. It was stood by a window, the last, dwindling light shining in. He spread all his stuff out on the table and started skimming through his book, trying to find more arguments.

Usually, he did all his homework together with Scorpius, but since he had joined the Quidditch team, he had had practice almost every night, even during the day on the weekends. Albus had now idea how and when his friend completed all his homework, but somehow he managed it. He shook his head to convert his thoughts back to his homework and tried to concentrate.

“Some claim the Giant War of 1763 was caused predominately by the uprising of the rebel group G.A.T.G.W., made up mostly of...”

He stopped, having no idea what he had just read. This is pointless, he thought.

He looked out the window, but couldn't really make out anything. But he wouldn't have been able to see the Quidditch pitch anyways, it was located at the other side of the school.

He turned his attention back to his essay and covered the tip of his quill in ink.

“While violence is certainly never a solution, in some situation it is necessary the affect and change the current system effectively. Further examples of this are...”

When he looked up again, just having put the last dot on his paper ending his essay, the library was quiet. He grabbed all his things that were scattered around and headed towards the door.

“I was just about to call for you, boy, it's almost nine.” The voice startled him. It was the librarian, an old, grandmotherly witch that he and Scorpius had a good connection with.

“I guess I got done with my homework just in time then.”

“Where's you're friend?”

Albus forced a smile. “He has Quidditch practice.”

The witch gave him a sympathetic nod. “Left you all alone to do your work. That's not nice of him. Now go off, young man, it's time for you to get back to your dorm.”

The witch was right. As a fifth-year, he had to be in the Common Room by nine o'clock and in his dorm by eleven. The only exceptions were Quidditch players, who – with permission of the head teacher – were allowed to stay out longer than that.

“Goodnight, Ms. Hudson.” Just then, a huge yawn overcame him and the old lady smirked.

“Goodnight, Albus. Get some sleep.”

Exhausted, he quickly made his way back to the Slytherin dormitories. The Common Room was fairly empty and he decided to head straight to his dorm and go to bed. He really needed to rest and saw no point in waiting up for Scorpius.

 

It must have been late when he woke up again. It was pitchblack, the only things visible were the millions and millions of stars in the sky through the window.

He had had a bad dream. Most of it he couldn't remember, but it had included the Quidditch team including Scorpius teasing him, calling him names and insulting him. It stung a little bit and he had that weird, upset feeling he always had after dreams like that where he knew it wasn't real but it still hurt and it still made him worry. Over the last few days he had noticed that it bothered him when Scorpius spent so much time with the Quidditch team instead of him. He realized it was silly, but everytime he left for practice, it hurt a little bit more.

He had no idea what time it was or if anybody was still awake, but he decided to call for Scorpius just to check. They usually went to bed at the same time and talked before falling asleep, but tonight, this little ritual hadn't taken place. And especially now he really needed to hear his voice and talk to him to feel better again.

“Scorp?” Albus whispered, barely audible over the sound of the breathing of their roommates.

“Huh?” The response was quiet and shortly followed by a stiffled yawn.

“Sorry, I'll let you sleep,” he mumbled, not wanting to disturb him.

“It's fine, I'm up anyways. Is anything wrong?” He could hear the creaking of the mattress and the sheets sliding down when Scorpius sat up.

“No, it isn't important. Doesn't matter. You'll need to rest, you don't wanna be tired for Quidditch practice tomorrow.” He hadn't meant to say that, it had just slipped out of him.

“So what? You're more important than Quidditch to me.”

Albus snorted. “You say that now.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

He didn't respond.

“Al?”

He just turned around in his bed, his back facing towards Scorpius now, staring into the darkness at what he knew to be the wall that he couldn't see. The silence was disturbed suddenly, a creaking of a mattress, covers falling on the floor, then footsteps, light, almost inaudible, yet filling the room with sound.. Then, the sound of his own mattress, he felt something, the warmth of another body, slight pressure on his back, when Scorpius sat down next to him.

“What's wrong?”

There was a hand on his shoulder now.

“Nothing. It's ridiculous.”

“If you're feeling it then it's not ridiculous,” he argued with a soft voice.

“Doesn't matter.” Albus didn't want to talk about it, he felt ashamed.

“It matters to me.” No response. “Please.”

He sighed. “I'm just... scared.” He stopped.

“Of what?”

“That you're gonna forget about me now that you have better friends.” He spoke quickly and immediately shut his eyes despite already not being able to see. He could feel Scorpius' body moving slightly after he had finished speaking.

“What better friends? What are you talking about?”

Albus just covered his head with the sheets, hiding himself underneath them.

“What, you mean the Quidditch team? They aren't better friends than you, I barely even know them.”

“Well, now. But you spend so much time with them at practice, you're bound to befriend them. And besides, now that you play Quidditch, people'll want to be friends with you. Like, everybody. That's... just how it works.”

“Albus, hey, turn around. Look at me. Where's your wand? Make some light, look at me.”

He obeyed, turning around after blindly searching for his wand on his bedside table. “Lumos.” The tip of his wand light uo, only a little bit, enough for him to see Scorpius' worried face.

“Listen to me, okay? I'll never have a better friend than you. Not the Quidditch team, not anybody else, it's always gonna be you. You're always gonna be my best friend. You were my first and only friend and you're so important to me, you need to know that.”

Albus nodded. He couldn't speak, didn't know what to say, how to react.

“You promise?” He asked, his voice breaking a little.

“I promise. Come on, scoot over.”

He did and then Scorpius lifted the covers and climbed under them, lying down next to him.

“Let's sleep, it's already so late. Everything's gonna be better tomorrow when the sun is shining.”

 

The next morning, Albus was woken up by somebody, something moving next to him. His still sleepy brain didn't know how to react to the unwelcome interruption, so he just rolled over and mumbled “Eh.”

“You're awake,” a soft, warm voice said. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I was just gonna go and take a shower.”

He tried to open his eyes but the blinding light forced him to shut them again. He felt a hand on his lower back.

“Just go back to sleep, yeah? You still got about an hour.” With that, the hand glid away and the only things audible were distancing footsteps.

Albus cuddled up in his blanket and fell asleep again.

 


	9. We've Got A Plan

 

**Albus**

 

_The boy's dormitory_

_September 22, 2021_

_7:04 pm_

 

When Albus had woken up again, Scorpius was nowhere to be seen in the dormitory, so he decided to take a shower first before looking in the Common Room. He was frantically searching through his drawers trying to find his favourite pair of socks when somebody interrupted him.

“Hey, Al.”

He looked up, scrunching up his forehead for various reasons. One being that he didn't particularly liked that nickname and two, it hadn't been Scorpius who had said this, and usually, nobody else talked to him unless they had a very specific, unavoidable reason and Albus wasn't ready to deal with whatever this specific, unavoidable reason was this early in the morning. So he turned around reluctantly and mumbled: “Wha' is it?”

Then only he looked up to see Sinari, a boy who lived in their dormitory, tall, scrawny, already in his school uniform.

“Was just wondering, do you know where Scorpius is?”

“No, I've just woken up. What do you want from him, anyways?” he questioned.

“I just wanted to ask him if he could help me with some homework.”

Albus' mind flashed back to all the times in the past four years where Sinari had maken fun of them both, calling Scorpius 'the son of Voldemort' and Albus 'the loser child that the Chosen One drinks to forget about and wishes he were never born'.

“Well, I doubt he'd want to help you.”

Sinari raised an eyebrow. “You speaking for your boyfriend now? Interesting.”

“I'm not speaking for him,” Albus defended himself. “Simply taking an educated guess about his opinion.”

Sinari nodded sarcastically.

“And he's not my bloody boyfriend!” He quickly added, just then realizing what the other boy had even said.

“Sure. See ya!”  
With those words, Sinari turned around and left the dormitory leaving Albus angered and embarrassed.

 

After his shower, Albus tried looking for Scorpius in the common room, but had no luck. It was deserted. Since it was almost eight, he assumed that most of his classmates – including his only friend – were already getting breakfast. Quickly gathering his school supplies, he wouldn't have time to come down before his first class to get them, he hurried upstairs to the Great Hall. Upon entering, he looked around, he looked around, scanning through all the tables, searching for a familiar, friendly face. Again, no luck. Scorpius was not sitting at their usual spot at the end of the Slytherin table, neither anywhere else at their or any of the other tables.

Albus frowned. It wasn't like his friend to just ditch him for breakfast without telling him. _Maybe he has a highly important Quidditch practice that he forgot to tell me about_ , he thought grimly. So he sat down alone, ignoring all the happy students around him, laughing and blabbing, and put some food on his plate.

“Oh, you know, we're gonna kick Gryffindor's butts this year. We have a solid team and they might have one star, but we've got seven.”

Albus looked up to find the source of the speaking, and saw Kyler sitting a little bit further down the table, talking to a group of other sixth-years. The bet came back to his mind, he didn't even have a plan yet. Where was Scorpius when he needed him? He could surely come up with something.

Albus quickly finished his breakfast, he wasn't extensively hungry; and decided to head to his first class, History of Magic. Maybe Scorpius was already there.

He rushed up the stairs, hoping they wouldn't move in a way that would force him to go a longer way than absolutely necessary when he bumped into someone going down the stairs.

“I am so sorry...” He started talking before looking up. In front of him stood a startled, small Hufflepuff with curly hair, who seemed to be in either third or fourth year, looking much younger than Albus himself.

“Oh, it's alright, it's my fault, really. I wasn't looking.”

He apologized again before continuing his way to his classroom, a little calmer and more attentive of his surroundings. When he got to the classroom, a few students were already there, standing in little groups and chatting. However, Scorpius' light blond hair was nowhere to be seen. Albus leaned against the wall a few feet away from the other students and slid down. He started looking through his notes and proof-reading the essay he had written the night before, trying to catch any exhaustion-induced spelling mistakes he could have made. He wouldn't have long before the teacher would let all of them in for their first class of the day and if he had to hand in his work – which was very probable considering Mr. Binns had a lot of free time and almost always collected all their essays – he at least wanted to get a good mark for something he had spent so long on.

“God, sorry, I'm so late!” Suddenly a voice appeared right next to his ear, and Albus flinched before realizing it was just Scorpius.

“Where have you been, I looked everywhere for you?”

“Had to finish the homework in the library and then I got caught up in a super interesting book about the – oh look, Prof. Binns is letting us in.”

Albus got up and entered the classroom together with his friend, preparing for two very boring hours where his main objective was trying not to fall asleep.

“Oh, and by the way – I think I found a solution for the bet! I have the perfect idea,” Scorpius whispered in his ear just before the professor started talking.

“Today we are talking about the Giant War of 1763, I hope you all did your homework because that will be our main point of focus today.”

 

After the painfully long two hour class, Albus couldn't wait for Scorpius to tell him his idea for winning the bet.

“So, what is it?” Albus asked on their way to their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“What is what?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Your idea... for the bet?”

Scorpius nodded.

“Oh yeah, right. Well, I was thinking – I mean, it could go terribly wrong,I guess, but it's the only thing I came up with...”

“Scorp?” Albus interrupted him.

“Oh right, I'm rambling again. Sorry. My plan was to maybe just write notes telling them to meet somebody somewhere at some time and somehow get these notes to them and have them meet and then maybe it'll go from there, you know. I haven't thought it all through yet, but you get the idea. It's pretty basic, but, you know.”

Albus nodded slowly, contemplating the plan in his head.

“Well, I think we need to sort out all the details and really get it right, but it could possibly eventually maybe actually work.”

He looked over at Scorpius.

“It's not a bad idea at all! Let's go to the library at lunch and try to figure out a plan. Now we really have to get to class.”

They slipped into the classroom just as their teacher, Prof. Blackburn, came in from her backroom where she prepared the lessons.

 

After a quick lunch, the boys rushed up to the library and sat down at their favorite table in a far corner where they couldn't be seen by everybody else.

“So...” said Albus.

“So,” repeated Scorpius.

“I've been thinking during class about your plan. I think the letters have to be anonymous. If Rox sees Kyler's name on there, she'll know it was us and she won't go. And we can't risk Kyler not going. I mean, I don't even know if they're friends or not, so maybe he wouldn't go.”  
“I agree, that sounds smart. And I don't think Kyler would turn down an anonymous invitation, he would definitely come, just to check it out. What about Roxanne?”

“She'd go for sure. She would be too curious not too. It's fool-proof. We just have to write the notes now.” He started taking out some parchment paper and a quill.

“And somehow get them to Kyler and Roxanne without noticing us,” Sorpius added.

“Yeah, that too.”

“I just got an idea!” Scorpius exclaimed. “How about we have them meet in Hogsmead?”

“When's the next Hogsmead day though?”

“It's next week, isn't it? I'm pretty sure it is. Because we know they'll both be free and probably in Hogsmead that day anyways.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Albus agreed. “And that way, they have something to do and time to spend together if it goes well.”

“And if not, they won't have to awkwardly walk away in the same direction three feet away from each other without talking.”  
Albus looked at the other. “Yeah, that too.”

He dipped his quill in some ink and started writing, Scorpius leaning over to see what it was.

 

_Dear Roxanne,_

_I have wanted to go out with you for a long time._

_Come meet me at the secret bench in Hogsmead next Saturday, 12 o'clock._

_I'm looking forward to it._

_Your anonymous admirer_

 

Both looked at the finished product.

“Is that good, or is it too much?” Albus asked doubtfully.

“I think it's great,” Scorpius reassured him. “I definitely wouldn't be able to resist such a letter.”

Albus blushed.

“You should write the other one then, so it's different handwriting.”

“Alright, give me your quill and some paper.”

 

_Kyler_

_The secret bench, Hogsmead_

_October 2, 12:00_

_Meet me there_

_x_

 

“That's it?” Albus questioned.

“That's it. Believe me, Kyler will be intrigued by its mysteriousness. This will definitely work.”

“Alright, I trust you.”

He paused.

“But you don't think the kiss is a little much?”

 


End file.
